Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 65354 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 327(@200wpm)___ 261(@250wpm)___ 218(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65354 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 327(@200wpm)___ 261(@250wpm)___ 218(@300wpm)
We took a quick shower to get ready for breakfast, and I slipped into the same clothes from the night before. Elyse shyly pulled on some thick leggings and a baggy Henley that brought out her eyes, finally grabbing some boots.
“You’re beautiful.” I kissed her again as she blushed, taking my hands.
“Stop, you’re embarrassing me,” Elyse murmured before she pulled away to look at me. We grabbed what we needed, and I drove her to a family restaurant a few blocks away, asking for my usual table. Elyse looked at me as we were seated in a back booth with a great view of the forest behind us. “The usual table? You come here a lot?”
“A few guys from the team like it since they keep it low key. We always sit back here and chill out. The food is incredible too. Take a look.” Elyse nodded and picked up the menu. She opened it and read through the choices as her eyes lit up a few times.
“What’s your favorite?” she asked. I laughed. I ordered a massive plate of bacon, sausages, ham, grits and eggs that she could never handle, so I suggested a couple of other things that she took into consideration. We were both ready when the waitress came back with our coffee, and she smiled as she glanced between us.
“It’ll be here soon,” she told me, and I nodded with a friendly smile. “She’s good about giving us our privacy,” I told Elyse, and she nodded.
“I see that.” She leaned back and rolled her neck slowly. “I feel like I got hit by a truck.”
“You’ve had a hard few days. I’ll be here for a while and spoil you rotten,” I promised as she stared at me. “We have a week away after that.”
“Of course. It’s your job.” She smiled weakly, and I hated my career for a fleeting moment. That made no sense since I worked all my life for hockey and no woman ever got in the way of that. I couldn’t let it happen now.
We enjoyed our breakfast and spoke about lighter subjects throughout the meal. I was already planning dinner by the time we left once I’d had Elyse in another part of her house. Who was I?
We ended up going to my place and watching a movie in my bed. We were close to naked, and she was draped over me as I stroked her hair back. Elyse was utterly relaxed, and I smiled down at her as she laughed at something on the screen. I knew that me knowing her truth took some weight from her shoulders, and all the pieces fell into place. The police officer outside of her house. Her aunt glaring daggers at me. Everyone was protecting Elyse, but I was the main one for that job now.
She fell asleep a few hours later, and I checked the team schedule on my phone. I had a morning skate tomorrow and then an evening game. I stared at her as I considered asking her to go, now aware of the reason she ran away from me the first time. The article said that she didn’t witness her mom’s murder, and I guessed that she didn’t know exactly what happened. It made a lot of sense that she’d run from any threat.
I still wanted her to be a part of my life as much as possible. I sent a message to Justin and told him to ask Tori to go with the hopes she’d bring Elyse. I also checked out my array of take-out menus and decided we were going to have Vietnamese food if she was up for it. I wasn’t leaving this house until tomorrow morning.
Elyse stayed the night with me, and by the following morning, Tori had convinced her to come to the game. She watched from the bed as I dressed for the skate after I told her to stay here and rest. I liked having her here, and my mind raced as I locked my door.
She left later when I got home, telling me she needed to get ready and go to dinner with Tori before the game. I kissed her and watched as she headed to her car to drive back to her place. I walked back inside and smiled as I thought back to the last week. A lot was going on here, but I wanted every bit of it.
Our biggest rivals were visiting us tonight, and I felt the adrenaline rushing through me in the locker room. We were going to win, but the thought of Livingston being on the ice giving me shit to provoke me made me slow down. He always pushed it, and I usually wouldn’t hold back. Tonight, Elyse would be watching, and I didn’t want to trigger her in any way.